A Demon Emerges
Sorry Warden "Trapped!? In Hell?" Mina exclaimed. "How is that even fair!?" "It's how it works." Maka spoke this time. "I've heard a few things about the Kushanadā from daddy. They aren't impossible to kill...but they do seem to be able to phase through solid objects so long as it is within the domain of Hell. Your physical weapons...they won't help here." "Physical? But what if we use our energies or coat our weapons in energy, will that help?" Marin asked this question quickly; she wanted to go home as fast as possible right now. "That is a viable option." Maka agreed. "I don't think that any of you, besides the Captain and his Lieutenant, have enough spiritual energy to harm these things though. They're strong. They're meant to be strong." Dyan gripped his sword. "It's the perfect irony. Gift the sinners with immense amount of power, give them that glimmer of hope that they can still somehow escape...and then introduce the warden, the sheriff if you want, with powers and durability stronger even than theirs." The Kushanadā turned their attention to the group, their glowing eyes gleaming. "The eyes of the rangers are upon us." Kisara could only stand and look at these things; jaw gaping in shock. "...Why must everything appear god-damn demonic..." "Let's deal with this quick." Dyan raised his sword up towards the Kushanadā, his spiritual pressure beginning to rise as he was immersed in dark green spiritual energy. Mintaka looked him him, curious as to why she could feel his reiatsu shooting up like a firecracker. "Ban...Kai!" With this rallying cry, Dyan's spiritual energy shot up in a large pillar, almost erasing him from view. With a swift slash, he cut through the energy pillar, revealing his new form, that of a man in a large one-sleeved, black overcoat, with several dark green x markings along his uncovered arm. His sword had changed, it was now a black nodachi with a length of chain climbing up Dyan's arm. However, the most notable change was his hair, which was now snow white, and his eyes, which had black sclera and glowing white irises. "Bankai. Sōtengetsu Reishiki." "So this is a Shinigami's Bankai..." Mina's ruby eyes widened as she took this in. Even the Corps members were surprised the Captain had brought out Bankai. Hanako merely smirked. "It's pretty boring looking, but I'll tell you what. That thing packs a punch." "Oh shove off, Hana." Dyan chuckled. "You're gonna hurt Sōtengetsu's feelings." His blade gleamed as he raised it against the hell-light. He held the blade up at his side and it erupted in black energy with a dark green outline. "This is going to get difficult...Getsuga Tenshō!" Swing his blade, he released the powerful energy technique as it collided with one of the beasts, sending it falling into the ground. Melissa raised her hand. "Gauss Cannon!" Gathering two large balls of scrap metal, she held one with one arm then used her attraction to slam the second one into her other, making her body into a connector which caused the ball that she grasped to launch towards a beast, pushing it back only slightly. Kisara held out her hand, blasting one with a violet wave of magic which served little purpose other than to annoy it. "Alright, let's just run. I don't think we can actually beat 'em, you know..." "Run where?" Mina asked, slightly irritated. "We're in Hell. We can only run to more Hell. We didn't exactly think about a return trip when your master sent us down here!" She actually sounded very stressed out, as if the prospect of running was just as distasteful as the prospect of fighting. "Let's just split up and try to take them down. We're smaller, we're faster, perhaps we can distract them. I'm sure Ragna is on his way, he said he was going to talk to Mashiro, so he must have worked out something. Then he can take these things on." Very eager to pass the buck. Marin clutched Mina's hand. "We'll go in groups! You, Melissa and I will run left and those Shinigami idiots and Kisara will go right. Hurry up!" She took off at full pelt, basically dragging her girlfriend. Dark Machinations Mina gripped her crossbow as it filled with her spirit energy. "I can feel it...we don't have anything that can damage these guys....these are the wardens of Hell..." She looked in the direction of one of the Kushanadā, and raised her bow. "Engelhaft Licht!" Compartments on her bow opened up, release several Heilig Pfeil in all directions. The Kushanadā, however, were large enough these arrows only pierced the one Mina was facing - and it elicited no reaction. "Tch! Didn't even feel it." Melissa fired several shots up at the hulking brutes; only for them to harmlessly bounce off and ricochet around wildly "...It wasn't very effective..." She sounded like a commentator. "...Are we still running, or what? They seem like wrestlers; the only thing they sell is merchandise." Mina gritted her teeth as she dodged a sweeping hand of a Kushanadā, lifting into the air as she gripped her bow. "Tch...I do have a technique I could probably use....but not enough spiritual energy to keep fighting if I do." She released an onslaught of Heilig Pfeil once more, watching as they futilely bounced off the beasts. "Who in the name of Hell created these things!?" "Probably a total idiot with a drawing book and brain damage, thinking of himself as a "writer". Should've offed himself." Marin pointed out; it was nothing but the truth. She attacked with several rounds of crimson energy, each leaving numerous scars upon the Kushanada which regenerated. "I wonder how Kisara is doing?" Mina murmured. Kisara seemed to have wandered off, or was, at the very least, fighting a distance away where Mina's eyes could not see. "She better not have gotten eaten, we're supposed to be a set." Kisara, meanwhile, was running away, firing blasts of pure magical power towards the stupid brutes, stalling for time. "I bet if I slipped into that state, I could defeat these things five times before they hit the ground..." ---- In a distant location, demonic energy conjured from around a solitary figure; crackling intensely. Pressing her fingers to her forehead, demonic energy surrounded her body, as she uttered the words; "Instant Transmission." Light engulfed her, as she dissapeared. ---- As the Kushanadā slowly, but surely caught up to Kisara, who was running out of magical power; the young mage closed her eyes. She waited for the final blow, but... That ending never happened. Slowly opening her eyes once more, Kisara was absolutely shocked. In front of her, the Kushanada had been torn in half- and it was beginning to regenerate. But more importantly... "...Ah, this is not according to plan. You've exceeded my ideal, Kisara." The young woman with flowing white hair in front of her muttered. Kisara rubbed her eyes, trying to make claim that this wasn't a mirage or something. "...Huh? The hell is this?" The woman extended her hand, helping Kisara up. "This is against my expectationss. Nevertheless, that was a close one." While Kisara was too busy spacing out, the woman handed her a gem which was black and appeared similar to a eagle's talon. "Keep with you at all times. It's a good luck token." Before Kisara could say anything, the woman dissapeared as fast as she saved Kisara. From the looks of it, her foe would take a long time to regenerate- now was her chance to find the others. ---- "Oh for the love of...!" Mina was ducking around the hands of a Kushanadā, once again trying to release her Heilig Pfeil to damage the thick skin of the beast. "Getsurame!" Dyan swung his blade towards the air, which released the energy of the Getsuga upwards. It then solidified into multiple large, thick needles (though "stakes" would be a more accurate term). "Hit the mark!" Dyan swung his blade down, and the stakes fell like rain, stabbing multiple Kushanadā. Melissa herself continued firing at the Kushanada; charging her bullets with magnetism in order to have a special effect on the beasts. Once one was struck, she hit another; the postive magnetism taking effect in order to slowly, but surely draw the monsters together and make them an easier target. Minataka stopped, panting as she looked up at the opposing Kushanadā. She was running out of energy and stamina fast, just keeping away from these things was like fighting Kisara on a bad day. "Dammit..." The beast made a lunge for her body...only stopping dead where it was. Mintaka blinked, and looked around, wondering what had happened. "It...what?" She cast her gaze upward to see Ragna floating far above her, a finger pointed to the mask of the Kushanadā. "Now, what's this? I can't have you harming that one down there, not at all. She's quite valuable you see." With a flick of his finger, the mask began to crack, until, near instantly, the entire Kushanadā was ripped apart at the seams. "R-Ragna...!" Mintaka was naturally left in shock, she almost didn't process that had called her "valuable". Marin paused for a moment to catch her breath; spearing her knees into the ground, panting heavily like she had just sprinted an entire marathon. "...It's over, right? We can finally rest, for what it's worth...?" Naturally, she wasn't shocked that Mashiro did not bother to show up to bail her out of this sticky situation. Suddenly, more Kushanada appared out of nowhere, surrounding the duo. Melissa bit her lip in exapseration, continuing to fire at the beasts like her life depended on it- which it did. "Oi, big demon guy! Maaa-kay dude! Can't you tell them to shove off!? This is seriously bad." "That is simple. Pity Mashiro decided to hang back." Ragna vanished, and his reappearance was signaled bu a Kushanadā being sliced cleanly in half by only his kick. "You, Shinigami!" Ragna called out to Dyan. "Get your group back to work on patching the shattered dimension! Richard and I can handle what's left!" "Alright." Dyan sent a blast of energy hurtling towards a Kushanadā that had been making it's way towards Hanako. "Hana, you ready to try and patch that up again!?" Hanako growled, snarking, "Coming, your highness." She ran over to the crack in the dimension, pouring her reishi upwards in an attempt to mend the damage done before anything even worse could happen. Dyan quickly gathered his team and they began to patch the crack, throwing the veil spell over it once more, and focusing their energies. Meanwhile, Ragna and Richard were crushing the Kushanadā with relative ease, which freed the girls to breathe for a minute. Mina, however, seemed bothered, as she looked at the charm on the three main girls shared, which was attacked to her pentacle. "Is something going wrong with Kisara...?" Kisara caught up to the others almost as fast as Mina wondered such a thing; clutching the black gem that the mysterious woman had handed her. "Sorry I'm late. I'm...not sure what just happened, but I'm fine now! No need to worry...hehe." Mintaka frowned, looking at her comrade with a wary eye. "What's in your hand, Kisara...?" Kisara hid it behind her back instantly. "Oh, what is? I've got nothing...I dunno what you're talking about." Unable to hide it anymore, she held the gem out. "Some lady saved me and gave me the gem; honestly, I don't think it's harmful, so calm down." Mina let out a sigh. "This is why we don't let you think for yourself. I can feel that thing radiating something dark....just throw it out already!" She made a movement as if to snatch the gem from Kisara's hand. Kisara immediately swung her arm back; preventing Mina from grabbing it. "No way. It looks useful..." Marin leaped towards Kisara, tackled her to the ground, and seized the stone. "We need to break it, straight away. I won't let you get any closer to darkness!" Kisara attempted to grab the stone back, flailing around like a small child. "Give it back, this instant! Don't take my things!" After a while, she did manage to steal the dark stone back, clutching it tightly as she tore it from Marin's hands, swiftly storing it in her pocket. "Just leave it be! Trust me, alright?" "Let it go, Marin..." Mina sighed. "We'll just see how this goes." CRASH! The last Kushanadā had just been brutally murdered, and Ragna walked over to them. "This was certainly the liveliest it's been in the Makai since your sister-" He was speaking towards Marin at that moment. "-inherited her Kingdom. We had to dig quite a few graves." Up in the sky, Dyan, Hanako, and their team, were just finishing as the Kidō melded itself into the fabric of space, closing off the upper level of Hell from the Makai. Dyan was breathing heavily. "All of that...after fighting Kushanadā. I don't get paid nearly enough." Hanako snarked next to him, "I say we ask that stupid old decrepit fart for a payrise. God knows we need one by now..." "...So, it's over now?" Melissa dashed up to the trio, questioning while glancing at the sky slowly mend itself together. "You could say that." Ragna confirmed. "Though I am curious...why would a group such as yourselves come here in the first place? I'm quite sure you got distracted from whatever goal you had, what with all of this." Marin's mind blanked for a moment until she realized what she was here for. "Oh, that's right! I wanted to learn more about my heritage. Why am I the only-half demon in my family? I was going to ask Mashiro but she seems to have just vanished..." "...Oh wow, we did come here for that, didn't we?" Mina didn't want to admit it had completely slipped their mind. "I blame Mashiro for all of this..." Ragna chuckled. "Even if you hadn't been sent by that womanchild, you still would have gotten wrapped up in something that this. Anyway...." Ragna took a seat on the ground, and motioned the girls to do the same. They complied. "Human...human human human....your story is actually a very simple one, Marin. You are, technically, full blooded siblings with Mashiro. However, and the details at the moment aren't fully known, I shouldn't even know this myself, had your mother not come to me when she was pregnant with you. Your genes were altered while you were in the womb. From full-demon to half-human, half-demon, you had been altered, and therefore, stripped of the full potential you could achieve had you been born with your full birthright." It was a few minutes before all of that sank in. "...That makes sense. A lot of sense. Well, at least she wasn't lying when she said she and I are full-blooded sisters...Thank you, Rawrgna. You've helped a lot...aside from the trying to eat me thing." "Think nothing of it. However..." Ragna turned his eyes towards Mina. "That isn't the only information I have to offer. There is one more of your group who isn't entirely human." "What?" Mina looked confused. "Ragna, I know Kisara is a bit dimwitted, but she's not a rock or anything!" "Wait, what? You talking about me?" Kisara was shocked; all this time, she was under the assumption that she was human. "Well, who else could it be? I'm hoo-mann." Melissa nudged Kisara slightly. "No, it's not either of you." He raised a pale finger towards Mina. "It's Mina. She's descended from a demon. Me, to be specific." Mina was speechless, trying to sink that in. She was...part demon? So...she was like Marin? "....Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?" She let the word draw out in surprise. "I'm....what?" Marin's eyes went blank; as the realization dawned upon her. "...Wait, so Mina won't die of old age, and she'll live as long as me?" Her eyes lit up. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" She was just so, happy, right now. She hug-tackled Mina to the ground in joy. "M-Marin, I...hurts...ow!" Mina was struggling to breath as her girlfriend crushed her with her joy. "It's not that simple." Ragna didn't want to crush their joy, but he figured what choice did he have? "I said Mintaka is my descendant, but I am quite a few centuries, if not millennia, old. I met her human ancestor many centuries ago. The demon blood that flows through Mintaka's veins is severely diluted. It doesn't quite give her the benefits it gives you, Marin." "..Well...that's actually a downer." Mina sighed. She had gotten a bit happy at the prospect of immortality. "Don't count yourself out just yet." Ragna waved his hand, quieting her before she could say anymore. "There are ways to unlock your demonic potential, and become a demon itself." "There are!?" Mina's eyes lit up at this one as she finally managed to get Marin and herself to sit up straight. "Yes, but I'm unfamiliar with them myself." Ragna seemed to love being the bearer of bad news today. "You'll have to figure it all out." Marin wanted to attack him now. "But what if Mina can't figure it out!? What then!? I don't want her to just wither away and die! I'm not going to let that happen!" She was fuming, her face red. "I just told you, I don't know." Ragna sighed. "You're being immature. Besides, the girl has talent, she'll unlock it herself down the line." "...can you all please stop referring to me like I'm not listening?" Mina seemed irritated. "So...part demon. And I have to unlock this power myself? Alright, challenge accepted!" Ragna's eyes narrowed as a smirk crossed his face. "Very good." Marin sighed, not happy. "But what if you can't find out how to do it..." Wary, she was about to force Mashiro to find a way to make her part-demon and grant her the lifespan of one. "Then you're out of luck?" Ragna shrugged. "You four seem to attract trouble like rotting meat attracts flies. Cease your worries." He stood up, dusting himself off. "Now...I believe you need a way out of here, I take it? I highly doubt you came here prepared with an exit." Marin held out her hand, causing Mashiro's teleporter to emerge. "We do have one, but I'm not sure if it works. ...It probably don't, given her." She frowned before asking, "Do you have one?" "...I'm really going to have to teach her the meaning of responsibility." Ragna sighed. He snapped his fingers, opening a large portal, which seemed to lead right to the outside world. "As it stands, I cannot pass right through this portal myself, King Enma is strict regarding these rules and has enforced barriers. So, I suppose I will see you lot again in due time." Richard walked over to Mintaka. "Good luck, Mintaka-sama. Keep the goal of becoming one of us locked firmly in your sights, I'm quite sure you can do it~!" "Of course!" Mina grinned. "Alright Grandfather, Richard, oh, and Princess Maka. I can't exactly call this fun, but it was enlightening." She and the girls jumped into the portal, and it closed quickly, ensuring nothing else could follow. "I suppose that's that..." Ragna sighed. "The girl is full of energy." "What now, Uncle Ragna?" Maka asked, her wide eyes looking up at him curiously. "We simply wait. The wind is changing, and it's flowing in it's currents around those girls." Ragna's eyes seemed to be far away, ahead in time, away from everyone else. "They certainly will attract trouble." ---- "So....what was the point of all that?" A male voice came from the shadows, speaking directly towards a woman; Juanita herself. "You follow them directly to the Makai, let loose the Togabito and Kushanadā, only to give the girl a gemstone? Did you need to be so roundabout?" Juanita rebuffed, "When you have to put it that way, it sounds mundane. I think I'd get dizzy if I walked in a straight line, if you know what I am talking about." "Even my mind cannot keep up with someone who moves in a varying zig and zagging pattern, Juanita." The person stepped out of the shadows, revealing the form of a young adult wearing the same type of outfit that Dyan himself had been wearing, with the addition of a long black overcoat. A Shinigami? "Please, do tell me what the point of the gemstone was, you weren't kind enough to inform me before I made the long trip to Hell itself." A faint smirk could be seen from underneath the woman's mask. "...The Dark Stone amplifies the power of darkness within her, at the cost of slowly eroding her sanity. It's a fitting trade-off, as once it is all gone, then I can fully begin in conquering what is left." "Very intriguing." The man smiled sinisterly. "I suppose we'll wait to see how this plays out. Your actions will benefit both of us in the long run." END